Switch’s success is especially notable given its handheld nature. In an industry often thought to be dominated by smartphones, Switch has found major success both as a console and a handheld platform. Speaking to Shinya Takahashi, Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning and Development Division general manager, and Yoshiaki Koizumi, producer of Super Mario Odyssey, we asked if they’ve observed many people playing Switch out in the world, and if they expected this level of success.

“Certainly in Japan, especially when people are in a long line, and maybe a lot of these are game product-related lines, you definitely see a lot of people holding a Switch and playing there,” Takahashi told IGN. “That's something that of course we hoped to see in the U.S. as well, trying to fulfill that promise of being able to play anywhere, anytime, with anyone. When we started to see evidence of that, we were very gratified.”

“Before the release of the Nintendo Switch, in interviews I would often talk to people about what their impressions were, this idea of game hardware that you could either play as a console in front of a television or take with you on the go,” he continued. “What I most looked forward to was hearing people's impressions after release, when they really tried it on their own, and started to realize the comfort and the charm of those experiences for themselves. What I think we were able to reaffirm at that time was the value of portable gaming in the Nintendo Switch. But because it is a hybrid that allows both, it allows us to very flexibly approach [console gaming] as well.”

According to Koizumi, part of Switch's appeal may be the hardware itself, which allows playing to be a different social experience than smartphones can offer.

“Just to add a little bit to this idea of how people viewing smartphones as an influence on the future of portable gaming, I certainly wanted to see all the possibilities of having controllers that could be separated from the hardware, so that you could be able to hand one to another person in a variety of different environments,” Koizumi added. “I think that really represents an amazing advantage over smartphones. That was something that we had focused on very clearly as something we could achieve to reach that distinction.”